The right Haversack for me?

ShortSeb

Private
Joined
Oct 19, 2019
Location
Vienna/AUSTRIA
Hi, folks!

As a Confederate I am looking for the right Haversack for me. I bought one before joining my local reenactment Club and before searching for deeper historical backgrounds. I bought this specific one because it was branded as "CS Haversack" at that time:


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Later I found out that this specific type was issued during the Mexican War. Is this true? And is this Haversack really authentic for a later Confederate too or should I search for another one?

Beside that I am an Artillery Gunner. Do I need for an authentic Display the specific "Gunner Haversack" made out of leather or is a regular Haversack made out of canvas realistic too?

Kind regards,
Sebastian
 
one thing about the Confederate side is that there is wide range of Haversack that can be used from what your family make you, to an issued one to a tarred canvas one. If you are on the Artillery Unit then the only way from my understanding that you would need a leather one is you were to carry rounds inside of it and other tools used on the gun.
 
Leather Haversack is a "Gunner's Haversack" and is used ONLY to carry rounds from the limber to the gun.....People in your unit should have told you that already, and you should have observed that if you've served on a gun.
Your personal haversack should be based on your theater of war, as well as year of war (ie early war, mid-war, late war). Again, people in your unit, if researched properly, should be able to advise you.
It is also true that soldiers had haversacks that were made at home and sent to them, so that is also something for you to research.
Get the book "Echoes of Glory" for further assistance, especially in the event that people in your unit can not answer questions authentically.
 
Well, I think the people in my unit could answer my question too. But there were so much impressions for me during my first Event that I simply forgot to ask some details. So that's the reason why I am asking here in between.

So, as a Gunner I have my personal canvas Haversack for food, personal stuff,... and the leather Gunner's Haversack is just for the "powder monkey"?
 
Well, I think the people in my unit could answer my question too. But there were so much impressions for me during my first Event that I simply forgot to ask some details. So that's the reason why I am asking here in between.

So, as a Gunner I have my personal canvas Haversack for food, personal stuff,... and the leather Gunner's Haversack is just for the "powder monkey"?
Yes, the powder monkey carries the leather haversack. And as any woman who has had a large leather purse will tell you, those suckers get heavy! Better off with a canvas sack. And yes, your first time out can be chaotic, so much to see! I’m glad to see that you are thoughtful enough to ask. From what I understand the Haversack is the backpack of the day. It all goes in there. Although I have seen men with carpet bags being used for extra “stowage”. The hardest thing to stow in my mind is the toothbrush. How does one do that and keep it clean??
 
Well, I think the people in my unit could answer my question too. But there were so much impressions for me during my first Event that I simply forgot to ask some details. So that's the reason why I am asking here in between.

So, as a Gunner I have my personal canvas Haversack for food, personal stuff,... and the leather Gunner's Haversack is just for the "powder monkey"?
Yes, you will have a haversack for your food/personal items. You will get the leather haversack when it is time for battle, then return it after the battle when the Lieutenant issues the command "Return Equipments".
 
to ...well...."echo" what @Albert Sailhorst mentioned earlier in this post, the book series "Echoes of Glory" is a fantastic trove of information including an ample amount of photographs.

I went ahead and took a photo of a page from my copy of "Arms & Equipment of the Confederacy" to show you some examples of standard Confederate haversacks.
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to ...well...."echo" what @Albert Sailhorst mentioned earlier in this post, the book series "Echoes of Glory" is a fantastic trove of information including an ample amount of photographs.

I went ahead and took a photo of a page from my copy of "Arms & Equipment of the Confederacy" to show you some examples of standard Confederate haversacks.
View attachment 330471
I have a couple of different haversacks that I use. This past year, I made one from ticking, as inspired by the very photo that you posted! :smile:
 
Thank's for These usefull informations. So I am happy I can save a few bucks here. I am sure my Lieutenant will hand me one out when needed and I don't have to purchase my own Gunner's haversack.

But to my other question: So is the Haversack I bought from the first picture really the standard issued haversack from the Mexican war and would it be realistic to wear for a Confederate soldier too?
 
Thank's for These usefull informations. So I am happy I can save a few bucks here. I am sure my Lieutenant will hand me one out when needed and I don't have to purchase my own Gunner's haversack.

But to my other question: So is the Haversack I bought from the first picture really the standard issued haversack from the Mexican war and would it be realistic to wear for a Confederate soldier too?

That does indeed look like a US issued haversack from the Mex-Am War, after a quick googling. That conflict took place roughly 20 years before the American Civil War began, so I'm personally going to go out on a limb and say that those haversacks were most likely not used. To reinforce this thinking, the average age of a soldier in the ACW would have been around 25 years of age, so that would mean a majority of soldiers were infants or not even born yet when the Mex-Am War was being waged. I hope this helps in some way!
 
The haversack in questions only bears a passing resemblance to the issue haversack from the Mexican War. Considering this model was replaced by the M1851 model, I also really doubt these would have showed up in large numbers, unless, used as a pattern by Southern manufacturers similar to the Kibbler knapsack.

However, the opposite is true as well. There are accounts of the M1828 knapsack being to Wisconsin or Illinois troops as late as 1864, and there is the Spaulding franken-pack with late 1864 provenance, so you never know what kind of garbage was coming out of warehouses.

Back to the question at hand, do you have a specific portrayal you are trying to do? East/West? Mid-war/Late-war? These things will help to identify what haversack may be more appropriate.



A rather odd looking haversack made from sheepskin with late war artillery provenance.

AH Bayley of the Orange Virginia Light Artillery has 2 haversacks associated with him

The first is commonly reproduced by vendors.


The second may in fact be a Confederate produced gunner's haversack


There are many different styles found in the collectionsof whatever the MOC is called today.

https://moconfederacy.pastperfectonline.com/search?utf8=✓&search_criteria=haversack&searchButton=Search
 
haversacks did not last long and as such, it could be possible that there were stocks left over from the 1840s in Southern Arsenal’s. These could be used in early war events, but what I would do, is take the current haversack and cut it down a bit to resemble the Echoes of Glory pieces. I am luck enough to have a collection of original southern sacks and the Glory pieces are very representative of what was used.

Find a seamstress or tailor who can perform the work for you or do it yourself.
 
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I found a more suiting haversack for my confederate impression now. Very plain and simple design and very common for confederate soldiers based on my research.

I just have to get comfort with the fact that this one is far smaller, half the size of the one from the mexican war before. But that's okay for me if the impression is more authentic and common with this new one.
 
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